Speaking of his family, they had once been rich.
His great-grandfather was born into a wealthy family. He grew up with a comfortable life and had everything he needed. Later, he married the person he loved and had a son. He watched his son grow up and start a family, and he even saw his own grandson (Zhu Mingyue’s father) being born. Then, during a banquet, he suddenly died from a heart attack.
Although the old man died young, he had lived a fuller and happier life than many people who lived much longer.
After his death, the family’s luck seemed to disappear. Everything they did went wrong. Their business declined year after year. In the end, Zhu Mingyue’s grandfather barely managed to save the family business, but the price was his own life—he died suddenly at his desk from overwork.
As the saying goes, “Wealth rarely lasts more than three generations.”
Unfortunately, Zhu Mingyue’s father was the fourth generation.
And even more unfortunately, Zhu Mingyue was the fifth.
After his grandfather died, his parents took over the business. But the two “rich fourth-generation heirs” only knew how to enjoy life and had no business skills. Within two years, the expensive imported baby formula in Zhu Mingyue’s bottle was replaced by thin rice porridge cooked by his grandmother.
At first, he thought life could continue like that. As long as the family stayed together, they were luckier than many others.
But more disasters followed.
First, his grandmother was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer. The family’s remaining money was spent on treatment, but it could not save her.
Later, both of his parents died in a car accident.
By the time he was in middle school, everyone in his family was gone except him. They were so poor that even debt collectors felt sorry for him when they saw the condition of the house.
He survived by working part-time jobs, earning scholarships, and receiving student aid from school. Life was difficult but manageable.
However, it left him with one bad habit:
As long as it was legal, he would do almost any job if it paid money.
During a summer vacation, he saw a message in a student group chat. A wealthy student from the same school was looking for companions for a desert expedition and offered a reward of 6,000 yuan.
At the time, Zhu Mingyue thought it was a great opportunity. He only needed to spend one week earning the money, then work another part-time job for the rest of the vacation. That would cover his tuition and living expenses for the next year.
What he did not know was that this decision would eventually cost him his life.
If fate had not somehow brought him into this new world, he would probably have become a dried corpse in the desert.
Looking at the past four generations of his family, his great-grandfather had clearly been the luckiest. He died early, but he enjoyed good days his entire life.
Even Zhu Mingyue’s parents spoke of him with envy.
After all, his father only enjoyed wealth for about twenty years.
Zhu Mingyue himself had only experienced it for about two years as a baby.
Thinking about it all, he sighed.
Why was his life so difficult?
…
That evening, they had rice porridge for dinner.
Cui Jian had cooked it for him. The porridge was thick and rich, far better than lunch. Zhu Mingyue happily drank every drop.
After he finished, Cui Jian tried to serve him another bowl.
Zhu Mingyue quickly refused.
“Brother Cui, do you not plan to live anymore?”
He hid his bowl behind his back and secretly complained in his heart.
What kind of refugee keeps telling other people to drink more of their precious rice porridge? He doesn’t act like a refugee at all.
Seeing that he truly would not take more, Cui Jian gave up.
…
Early the next morning, the room was brightly lit.
Zhu Mingyue woke up to the crackling sound of burning firewood.
When he opened his eyes, he saw that nearly half the people had already packed their belongings and were preparing to leave.
Aunt Hua and Cui Jian were among them.
Aunt Hua was stirring the leftover porridge in a pot, while Cui Jian sat quietly by the fire, expressionless and deep in thought.
“You’re awake?” Aunt Hua asked with a smile. “Why not sleep a little longer? It’s still early before work.”
Zhu Mingyue rubbed his tired eyes.
“What time is it?”
“It’s around four in the morning. After breakfast, we’ll leave. We might reach the city gate right when it opens.”
His mind immediately became clear.
He quickly got up, dressed himself, folded his bedding, and tied it neatly with a rope.
Cui Jian handed him a bowl of hot porridge.
This time, Zhu Mingyue accepted it and slowly drank it all.
About fifteen minutes later, everyone was ready.
Some people who had found work and planned to stay behind were also beginning to wake up.
Although they had traveled together during their hardships, most people were not close friends. There were no emotional farewells. They exchanged a few polite words and then left the temple.
Zhu Mingyue was different.
Aunt Hua and Cui Jian had saved his life.
So he followed them outside.
Cui Jian glanced at him, confused.
“I’m walking you to the city gate,” Zhu Mingyue explained.
“There is no need. Every meeting must end with a goodbye.”
“No.”
Zhu Mingyue smiled and blinked.
“I’ll walk you there. The gate isn’t far from where I work. I’ll still arrive on time.”
Seeing that he insisted, Cui Jian stopped arguing.
Together, they headed toward the city gate in the dim morning light.
…
As dawn arrived, the sky slowly brightened.
Their pace became faster, and before long they reached the gate.
Many people were already waiting in line. Most were small merchants leaving the city with carts full of goods.
Suddenly, a man cut in front of Cui Jian.
“Why are you cutting the line?” Zhu Mingyue shouted, pointing at him.
Did this man think he could bully Cui Jian because Cui Jian looked gentle and refined?
Even if Cui Jian did not mind, Zhu Mingyue certainly did.
Back in school, he hated people who cut in line at the cafeteria. Whenever he saw one, he would call them out.
The man was the type who only bullied weak people.
Once everyone started looking at him, he felt embarrassed and quietly returned to the back of the line.
Zhu Mingyue proudly lifted his chin.
Then he seriously lectured Cui Jian.
“Brother Cui, you always look too calm. It looks nice, but it doesn’t scare people. When you’re outside, you should be fiercer, like me. See? Nobody dares to mess with me now.”
“Alright,” Cui Jian replied.
For the first time that morning, a smile appeared on his face.
In his mind, he remembered how Zhu Mingyue had bravely stopped the line-cutter.
Honestly, it had been—
not intimidating at all.
The man probably wasn’t scared by Zhu Mingyue’s words. He only backed down because everyone was staring at him.
But Cui Jian decided not to tell Zhu Mingyue that. It might hurt the young man’s pride.
Before Zhu Mingyue could continue his lesson, the city gate opened.
Soldiers carefully inspected the merchants’ carts for illegal goods, while refugees passed through quickly.
Soon, only a few people remained ahead of Cui Jian and Aunt Hua.
Zhu Mingyue felt sad.
He wiped his nose and gave his final goodbye.
“Aunt Hua, thank you. Thank you and Brother Cui for taking care of me. Without you, I might already be dead.”
“Nonsense,” Aunt Hua said.
“You’re still so young. Don’t talk about death. I’m good at judging people. Your good days are still ahead.”
She patted his head and walked through the gate.
Cui Jian looked at his slightly red eyes.
“Don’t be sad. If fate allows it, we will meet again.”
Zhu Mingyue managed not to cry.
Suddenly, he remembered the gift he had brought.
While Cui Jian was being inspected, Zhu Mingyue quickly placed a small cloth package into his hands.
“This is for you.”
Someone behind him pushed forward, forcing Zhu Mingyue to step back and give up his place.
Cui Jian did not check the contents. He simply put it away.
Then he bowed respectfully.
“Farewell.”
Zhu Mingyue copied the gesture.
“Farewell, Brother Cui.”
The crowd was large, and Zhu Mingyue was not very tall.
Soon, both Cui Jian and Aunt Hua disappeared from sight.
Zhu Mingyue pursed his lips.
A wave of sadness, loneliness, and fear rushed over him.
Now, he was truly on his own.
Still, life had to go on.
After one final glance outside the city, he turned and headed to work at the river project.
…
After several cloudy days, the winter sun finally appeared.
Its warmth seemed to chase away all darkness.
After serving food to the last worker, Zhu Mingyue finally had time to rest and look at the sky.
One of the older women told him that the thin clouds meant several days of clear weather ahead.
This was good news.
The warmer weather would make work easier.
And Cui Jian’s journey would not be delayed by snow or rain.
Thinking of Cui Jian made Zhu Mingyue feel sad again.
He wondered whether their journey was going smoothly.
…
About fifty li away from Kangyang County, a group of around twenty travelers rested beside a quiet road.
Cui Jian, who led the group, accepted a water bottle and drank several mouthfuls.
The weather was perfect for traveling.
He had walked from morning until noon without feeling tired.
However, the others were slowing down.
Since they had reached a peaceful area, Cui Jian allowed everyone to rest for half an hour and eat lunch.
At that moment, a young man with a very low profile in the group approached him and quietly spoke.
“Young Master, we received news from Ningjiang. The Wu family traitor is still there. The entire region is covered with wanted posters of you. He has also made many threats.”
The young man hesitated.
“Speak.”
“The Wu family traitor said that as long as any rebel survivor remains alive, he will search every inch of the region until he finds you… and then tear you apart.”
Cui Jian laughed coldly.
A dangerous light flashed in his eyes.
He casually threw away the flatbread in his hand.
“He is certainly brave. To kill me, he even dared to take control of Ningjiang.”
“Young Master is wise. That traitor probably never imagined that you had already escaped Ningjiang long ago.”